Mom Notices Her Breast Milk Changed Color And Figures Out It’s Because Her Baby Got Sick

Caralynn is a writer, native New Yorker, TV enthusiast, and dog mom to Hobbes.

There’s a reason people often call breast milk “liquid gold.”

Scientific research suggests that breastfeeding has significant health benefits for both the mom and baby. Paige Peterson, who has an infant daughter, recently went viral for her post demonstrating one way that breast milk can help kids without the nursing mom even realizing it.

Alongside a photo of two bags of her breast milk side-by-side, Paige wrote on Facebook:

“Raina tested positive for flu this past weekend. I didn’t believe the nurse when she told me because she hasn’t had any symptoms of flu that I have noticed.

The frozen milk on the left is from 2 weeks ago. The frozen milk on the right is from this past weekend when her swab came back positive. Notice the change in color?

My breast milk created antibodies to fight off any infections that Raina may have had. I never gave her Tamiflu.

THIS is why I breastfeed! If you’re a new mom and can breastfeed, please be patient and seek help if you need it. Breastfeeding is SO important for our babies.”

Paige’s post has since been shared over 43,000 times.

“I read your mammary glands can detect bacteria or any kind of illness in your baby when you breastfeed,” Paige told WCNC.

WCNC spoke to international board-certified lactation consultant Rachel Miller, who confirmed that mammary glands can “absolutely” detect bacteria or illness in a baby when they’re breastfeeding and change the appearance accordingly.

“Sometimes when we are sick, our body is burning extra calories, as we’re fighting off that illness, so it could very well increase the calories of Mom’s milk to make sure the baby has the energy to be doing the work of fighting off the virus,” Rachel explained. “That definitely would change the appearance of the milk in a way where it would look more yellow.”

Isn’t the human body incredible?

Check out the video below to learn more about the science behind breast milk changing color, and don’t forget to SHARE this story on Facebook!

An earlier version of this story stated that lactation consultant Rachel Miller confirmed to WCNC that breast milk can “absolutely” detect bacteria or illness in an ill baby. In fact, she confirmed Paige’s reading that the breast, not breast milk, can detect illness.